No, your eyes and memory weren’t playing tricks on you: Second Rob Fowler and lead Steve Gould of the Jeff Stoughton rink did indeed look a lot more ecstatic at winning another trip to the Brier than they did in 2009 and 2007.

“I guess because of the way we won, we showed a lot more emotion,” said Fowler, who will join Stoughton, third Kevin Park and Gould at the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier in Halifax March 6-14. “Last year, we didn’t have to throw our last rock (against Kerry Burtnyk) and in 2007, Jeff had an open hit to win (against Peter Nicholls).”

At Steinbach on Feb. 14, however, it was a nail-biting conclusion, an extra end vs. 29-year-old Brandon native Mike McEwen and his rink of 20-somethings. When Stoughton settled into the hack for his last shot, he had to draw the button.

“As Jeff was coming down for his last shot, Steve and I stressed the importance of talking to each other,” said Fowler. “But I’ll tell you, that’s about as nervous as I’ve ever been in my whole career.”

Fowler said he and Gould knew it was “on the button on its own” as soon as Stoughton released it. “We were very nervous about sweeping it,” he said. “If we’d swept it for six or eight feet at the start, it might have been heavy.”

As it were, Fowler and Gould waited for the rock to pick up the curl just over the hog line and then swept it figuratively through the front doors of the Halifax Civic Centre.

McEwen had beaten Stoughton’s rink Saturday night during the 1 vs. 2 Page playoff game, keeping the younger team’s record perfect. That dropped Stoughton into the Sunday morning semi-final against Kerry Burtnyk, which he won to earn a return engagement with McEwen.

“We would rather have won Saturday night and gone right into the final,” said Fowler. “Because we’re such an experienced rink, gaining any momentum by playing on Sunday morning wouldn’t have been much of a factor. Winning on Saturday would have also given us the hammer, which we wanted.”

The Stoughton rink was counting on a little Sunday afternoon nervousness on the part of McEwen and Co., said Fowler. “We felt it was important for us to go after them early.”

They did. Stoughton stole one on the first and two on the second end for a quick 3-0 lead, only to see McEwen and his rink of third B.J. Neufeld, second Matt Wozniak and lead Deni Neufeld battle back to force an 8-8 tie at the end of regulation. In the extra end, McEwen’s rink played about as well as possible, forcing Stoughton to make a skill shot to win. And the veteran skip did it.

So now it’s off to Halifax and the Brier, which this year will be without the No. 1 rink in the world, Kevin Martin’s foursome from Edmonton. Because of his Olympics commitment, his rink didn’t play in the Alberta playdowns, and Kevin Koe’s Edmonton rink, featuring Brandonite Nolan Thiessen at second, emerged as the winner. Fowler figures Stoughton, Koe, Glenn Howard of Ontario and Brad Gushue of Newfoundland, the Brier’s four contestants who are regulars on the World Curling Tour circuit, will likely be the favourites.

Stoughton beat Howard in the semi-finals in 2009 but went on to lose to Martin in the final. In 2007, Stoughton defeated Martin in the 3 vs. 4 game before losing to Howard in the semi-final.

This year? It’s wide open, said Fowler. And while he doesn’t want to jinx his team’s chances by looking too far ahead, he is aware that the men’s worlds will be held this year in Cortina, Italy, where his sister, Rhonda, lived for one year while her husband Darren Ritchie was playing pro hockey. “She’s been telling me how beautiful it is,” he said.